Rise of the Tomb Raider: How PlayStation’s Lara Croft is HOTTER than EVER

But what’s changed in the 20 years since she first graced our PlayStation consoles with her trademark fringe and teal top as the Tomb Raider?

That’s two decades of gaming trends, genres, old ideas and new ideas that have passed since the heroic video game legend first picked up her dual pistols in 1996.

When the stunning British beauty first appeared on PlayStation 1, among other consoles, she was made up of just 250 polygons – she has since grown to an animated work of art, composed of over 200,000 polygons.

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LEGEND: Lara Croft has come a long way since the days of locking the butler in the freezer

“I think she was part of a broader movement towards a new kind of powerful feminism that came about”

Iain Simons

When the first edition of Tomb Raider was released, in 1996, there was outcry over Lara’s chest size and its proportion to her waist size.

But after a whopping 19 games, even the most devoted feminists have to admit that Lara has changed the perception of women in gaming.

Iain Simons, director of the National Videogame Foundation said: “It’s not coincidence that it was that sort of time [the game’s release].

“I think she was part of a broader movement towards a new kind of powerful feminism that came about.”

Not everyone agrees though, renowned feminist Germaine Greer once called Lara a “Sergeant Major with balloons stuffed up his shirt” and “not a real woman”.

Amid the controversy data released by studio creator Eidos suggested that 40% of early Tomb Raider gamers were female – a far higher figure than other games of the time can boast.

It just goes to show that not only has Lara Croft’s Tomb Raider franchise changed itself but it changed the entire gaming industry from the very start.

Now in 2016, following 20 years of adventures across the world battling demons and demagogues, Lara has cemented her place in gaming folklore.

This latest edition – Rise of the Tomb Raider – has seen the developers hit a ceiling in terms of improving graphics.

So the creators behind the franchise instead stepped up to develop the character of Lara with her emotional complexities.

Upcoming Justice League actress Camilla Luddington was brought in to voice the heroine bringing another level of detail to the voice.

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